


#3: Competition

by nightbirdrises



Series: Advent 2015 [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 01:11:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5355368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightbirdrises/pseuds/nightbirdrises
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt and Blaine’s daughter, Jamie, decides to audition for her middle school’s Christmas nativity play. Despite misgivings regarding his religious beliefs, Kurt becomes invested in making sure his daughter gets a role. However, things may not be what they seem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	#3: Competition

**Author's Note:**

> I'm slipping behind a little, not gonna lie, but I'll keep chugging forward. [Here's the tag for more](http://princehummel.tumblr.com/tagged/klaineadvent).

“Hey Dad.”

“Hey kiddo,” Burt says. Kurt smiles at the term; he’s certainly not a ‘kiddo’ anymore (he has his own, after all) but it reminds him of all the good memories he has of his dad, now more commonly referred to as Grampa Burt. “How’re you doing over there?”

“We’re doing well, I think. You?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re fine. Carole’s got all these plans for the holidays, like she thinks just ‘cause I’m retired that means I wanna go out all the time.”

“I know how bored you get,” Kurt says, putting his phone on speaker so he can put the clean dishes from the dishwasher away. “She’s trying to do you a favor.”

“Yeah, alright. You’ve got a point.”

“Do you still visit the garage?”

“’Course I do. Gotta check up on the guys, make sure they’re not screwin’ up everyone’s cars before the weather gets bad. But enough about me. What’s the little one up to these days?”

Kurt smiles to himself, feeling pride swell up in his chest as he examines a plate. “She’s auditioning for her school’s nativity play as we speak.”

“Uh-huh. Nativity, you said?”

“Yeah, I know. It’s not ideal, but I’m willing to put aside my beliefs because, well–”

“You want her to win.”

“Of course I do, she deserves it!”

Burt chuckles. “Do the other kids not deserve it or something?”

“I, they’re not  _my_  kids, are they?” Kurt huffs, glaring at his phone. He can perfectly see his dad’s amused expression in his mind’s eye and it’s just a tad annoying. “What about you and the whole Defying Gravity thing when I was in school?”

“Now, that was high school, and there was a lot riding on that.”

“There’s a lot riding on this too! If she gets a part and does well, maybe she’ll audition for more plays. The Christmas play tradition is like a gateway drug, right?”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so,” Kurt says with finality. He hears the door open and close, hears Blaine and Jamie talking to each other. “Speaking of my daughter, she and Blaine just got back.”

“Oh, good. Let me talk to my grandkid for a sec.”

“Sure.” Taking his phone from the counter, Kurt tracks Jamie down in the living room and hands it over to her. “Grampa Burt’s on, I told him about your audition.”

For some reason, Jamie doesn’t meet his eyes when she thanks him and takes the phone. Stranger still is how she hurries off to her room and closes the door before saying a single word to Burt.

“What was that all about?” he wonders aloud.

“What was what all about?” Blaine asks, unraveling his scarf. Kurt’s distracted for a moment by the warm, pleasant feeling he gets when he sees his husband for the first time after a long day, a soft smile on his lips that Blaine returns. “Do I get a welcome-home kiss now that Jamie isn’t around to be disgusted by us?”

“Well, if you insist…” Kurt’s still smiling when their lips press together, complicating his plans to really  _kiss_  his husband, but he doesn’t mind. He winds his arms around Blaine’s neck and mumbles, because his curiosity is burning, “Did she win?”

Blaine laughs a little, says, “You mean got a part? I don’t know if I should be the bearer of this news.”

“ _Please_ , I have to know. C’mon Pops.”

“I still don’t get why you call me that when  _you’re_  Papa around here.”

“Blaine.”

“Fine,” Blaine says, dramatically long and drawn-out. “She got it.”

“She did?” Kurt grins. “Of course she did! I bet none of those other kids could have been a better… whatever or whoever she is. God or someone.”

“Definitely not God, sweetheart, but I actually don’t know which part she got,” Blaine says, frowning. “I asked but she changed the subject. She was really excited about it, though.”

“She was excited about it but didn’t talk about it?”

“Yeah… I guess that’s kind of weird, but maybe she thinks it should all be a secret until we see the show?”

“That makes sense,” Kurt says, nodding slowly.

“You’re just glad she, as you say, won,” Blaine says, raising an eyebrow at him. “Your competitive spirit is showing.”

“Mhm. Where’s yours?”

“It’s there, but I think you’re being competitive enough for both of us.” Blaine smiles and gives him a peck on the cheek. “It’s your dad thing. I can try to rein myself in and be the more, ah–”

“Honey, you’re the one who grilled her about the other people auditioning yesterday. Don’t kid yourself.”

“Uh, that’s called curiosity?”

“Uh, you’re just as competitive as I am and you know it,” Kurt says, poking Blaine’s chest. “I just win more.”

“That’s debatable.”

“You guys aren’t gonna kiss again, are you?” Jamie says, having returned from her room with Kurt’s phone. “If you are, tell me first so I can cover my eyes and ears.”

Unexpectedly, Blaine gives Kurt another kiss on the cheek while he’s looking away, this one coming away with an obscenely loud  _smack_. Jamie’s face scrunches up in disgust.

“Ew, Dad!”

“Sorry James, but you set yourself up there,” Blaine says solemnly. Kurt rolls his eyes and goes to give Jamie a hug.

“I hear you’ve had a good day,” he says.

“It was pretty good, I guess,” Jamie says. “There were chicken sandwiches for lunch, that almost never happens.”

“Hey, you know what I’m talking about.” She gives him a sheepish smile and nods. “Dad told me all about it, congrats!”

“Thanks!”

“What part did you get?”

“I got… you know, they haven’t really decided yet, they just kind of picked people and we’re going to, uh, be assigned to one of the roles later.” Jamie grins when she sees Kurt’s suspicious look.

“I see. But you definitely get a part, right? They’re not going to cheat you out of it?” He kneels down and puts a hand on her shoulder. “The school system is flawed–”

“I think she’ll be fine,” Blaine says pointedly; it’s probably for the best. “Why don’t we order a pizza to celebrate?”

Kurt agrees after a moment, satisfying himself with the knowledge that, whatever the circumstances, his daughter is obviously the best and deserves to be on stage, however that comes to pass.

 

* * *

 

By the time the next month, December, comes around, Kurt’s practically buzzing with anticipation. Because Jamie has been staying late after school to rehearse, it’s better for everyone’s schedules that Blaine picks her up - which just means that Kurt’s had no opportunity to take a peek at the rehearsals. Now they’re about to see the end result, but he still has no idea what her role is.

“How have you not taken a look?” Kurt asks, walking towards the school with Blaine on the day of the first performance. “You’re the one picking her up.”

“I wait outside for her,” Blaine says. “I feel like it’s a little less intrusive.”

“Hmph.”

“Hey.” Kurt looks at Blaine, who’s smiling softly. “You’re going to see your daughter onstage for the first time since she was little. Isn’t that what’s important?”

“I suppose. And she’s not just my daughter.” Blaine’s hand squeezes his before they go inside. “To the auditorium.”

“Actually, she said it’s being performed in the gymnasium.”

Kurt draws to a stop, accidentally tugging on Blaine’s arm, and stares at him, confused. “Why would they put a performance on in the gym?”

Blaine shrugs, although he’s starting to look appropriately puzzled as he leads the way to the gym, where a gathering of other parents and some students are also headed. The sound of sneakers squeaking gets louder as they approach, as does the distinctive sound of basketballs bouncing off of the floor, again and again.

“Kurt,” Blaine says, “I think we’ve been a bit misled.”

Sure enough, they enter the gym and Kurt, scanning the room, finds Jamie in a black and orange jersey and matching shorts, sporting the number nine. “Oh my god.”

“Do you think she thought she couldn’t tell us?” Blaine asks after they sit down, concerned. Kurt keeps his eyes on their daughter, who hasn’t noticed their arrival. “I thought she knew I like sports.”

“She’s been talking to Dad practically every day for weeks,” Kurt says, the signs becoming clear in hindsight. “I can’t believe she managed to keep it a secret.”

“Well, we’re here now. Our daughter is a basketball player.” Blaine pulls off his bow tie and unbuttons his collar. “Let’s be supportive.”

“Quick, teach me how basketball works. What’s that?” Kurt says, pointing to a player who had just gracefully run up to the basket (or is it a hoop, or a goal?) and lifted the ball up to hit the backboard and bounce it in.

“That’s called a layup.”

Watching the warm-ups intensely, Kurt keeps asking Blaine questions as they come to him, determined to understand the sport on some level. He has never once had the desire to learn anything about basketball, but if it’s going to be a part of their family now, he should know enough that he can tell what’s good and what’s bad, as well as what’s unfair.

His daughter might be playing the sport now, but ‘dribbling’ is probably one of the most ridiculous terms he’s ever heard.

“If you pick the ball up and try to dribble again, it’s a double-dribble and–”

“I wish you were making this up.” When the first whistle blows and the game begins, Kurt leaps up and tries to keep track of the action, which is pretty much nonstop compared to football. At one point Jamie gets the ball from one of her teammates and breaks down the court towards the basket, just barely ahead of the blue-clad players chasing after her. Kurt’s not sure what he’s yelling, but both he and Blaine are shouting until Jamie takes a shot from one of the curved lines - they take a breath while the ball hangs in the air, but when it goes in, Kurt jumps, clapping and cheering as Blaine hugs him, cheering just as loudly. “That’s my daughter!”

Kurt’s certain that he hasn’t been this invested in a sporting event since he was a high school football kicker for a couple of games; he might even be more invested in this because it’s not really about proving himself, it’s about Jamie kicking some blue-jersey ass.

“And having fun, too,” Blaine adds during a timeout, his voice going hoarse.

“Of course, of course,” Kurt says. “That’s always important. But, Blaine?”

“Yes?”

“I think I could get used to doing this basketball-dad thing.”

Blaine grins. “Just be careful not to get yourself kicked out. Like I said during the third quarter, the referees have the final say. There’s no instant replay in middle school.”

“It was a stupid final say,” Kurt grumbles. “Jamie didn’t even touch that girl, she just fell on her own.”

“If you say so, sweetheart.”

In the end, the opposing team makes a devastating comeback to win the game, an outcome that seems to upset Kurt more than it upsets some of the players. He and Blaine hurry to the court before Jamie follows her team to the locker room. She sees them coming and smiles nervously, clearly exhausted.

“Hey Dads,” she says. “So, um, I didn’t audition for anything.”

“I think we figured that out when we got in here,” Blaine says. “Why didn’t you tell us you were trying out for this team instead?”

“I thought you might be disappointed,” Jamie says, looking more at Kurt than at Blaine. “You’re always talking about doing plays and musicals, but I wanted to try something different.”

Kurt smiles wryly. “I think it’s time I told you about the time I played football.”

“Grampa told me, actually. It was his idea to tell you to come here. But you’re not disappointed?”

“No, sweetie, of course not,” Kurt says, drawing Jamie into a sweaty, tired, happy hug. “I just wish I would have known to dress more casual. I do need you to tell me one thing.”

“Yeah?”

“When do you play that team again?”

Blaine shakes his head and they let Jamie go to change and gather her things in the locker room. “I think we need to reevaluate some of her Christmas gifts.”

“Already on it,” Kurt says, making notes on his phone. He saves them and looks back at his husband, who holds his hand out. Kurt takes it in his own and squeezes. He really does love their little family, especially when they kick some ass.

He  _can’t wait_  for the next game.


End file.
